By Jacque Day
Metropolis, Ill. – Some Metropolis residents are hot under the collar over recent higher-than-normal power bills. But Mayor Billy McDaniel says rumors of rate increases of more than 40 percent are untrue. He attributes the bill spikes to surges in usage during this summer's heat. He says the Metropolis system used about 1 million more kilowatt hours during June compared to June of last year. July's usage was also significantly higher. McDaniel says Metropolis purchases its power from the Illinois Municipal Electric Agency. The IMEA rate increased only about five percent over the past year.